FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

December 3, 2025

MEDIA CONTACT: 

e: jessica.myers@mail.house.gov

c: 202.913.0126

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) led 43 of her colleagues in a letter to House and Senate Armed Services Committee leadership urging the exclusion of any moratorium or preemption on state Artificial Intelligence laws in the FY26 NDAA.

“Artificial intelligence offers exciting opportunity and innovations, but without proper protections in place, the potential for harm is too great to ignore. Unless and until Congress acts in a comprehensive manner – including to address algorithmic harms and bias – state laws are the only recourse American consumers have for protecting themselves and their data from Big Tech and the multitude of potential harms caused by AI. With reports of inaccurate facial recognition technology, the increasing prevalence of deepfakes online, and recklessly dangerous chatbots marketed to children, we are already seeing the harms from unregulated AI. In 2025 alone, all 50 states introduced legislation on AI, and 38 states adopted or enacted 100 measures on the topic.1 To preempt state laws would directly kneecap the power of individual state governments to implement the work that has already been signed into law. Not only would this stomp on state autonomy, but it would create an unnecessary regulatory vacuum that lets Big Tech run rampant.” The Members continued, “Any kind of preemption would cause a slew of unintended consequences putting all Americans at risk online; a moratorium would be wildly irresponsible given the lack of any federal legislation. Therefore, we urge you to prevent any AI moratorium or preemption from being included in the final FY26 NDAA.”

The letter was signed by 44 Members of Congress: Nanette Barragán, Donald Beyer Jr., Kevin Mullin, Sara Jacobs, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Andrea Salinas, Paul D. Tonko, Greg Casar, Jennifer McClellan, Betty McCollum, James P. McGovern, Chris Deluzio, Madeline Dean, Raul Ruiz, Becca Balint, Melanie Stansbury, Seth Magaziner, Nydia M. Velázquez, Norma Torres, Greg Landsman, Diana DeGette, Steven Horsford, Chellie Pingree, Maxine Dexter, Jan Schakowsky, André Carson, Jill Tokuda, Julia Brownley, April McClain Delaney, Deborah Ross, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Mark Takano, Maxwell Frost, Jake Auchincloss, Steve Cohen, Sarah McBride, Kweisi Mfume, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Summer Lee, Yassamin Ansari, Maggie Goodlander, and Kelly Morrison.

Full text of the letter can be found HERE.

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